brittany nicole

You know?

Sometimes you need to break away from your everyday routine and do something spontaneous.

Like go spend the weekend in Vegas. I had so much fun. I know how the saying goes:

“What Happens In Vegas, Stays in Vegas”

…but I want to share all the deets from my trip!!! Trip was taken 5/14/21-5/17/21…

Here’s part one of me answering a few questions about my weekend in Vegas and providing you with the best tips to make the most of your stay.

I flew out of Atlanta, Georgia and the airport was easy to maneuver through for the most part. The hardest part was trying to find a place to park. If you park at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the fee is $19.00 for daily parking. I’d recommend utilizing other alternatives if you’re looking to save money. I would have definitely done this but my silly self barely made it to the airport in time for my flight so I had no other choice but to park on site. Park N’ Fly is a great alternative.

And when I say barely, here’s the facts: I woke up that morning to pack. Made the mistake of going to get a Brazilian wax on 5/13/21 at Lavish Threading & Spa in Hoover. DO NOT GO THERE FOR THIS SERVICE. My whoo-ha was burned as a result and did leave scarring. She literally sent me out the door with the wax still on me… I then went to another business (Arch4U) for advice about what to do. She completed the job and told me that I needed to ice down my whoo-ha for the night. So I did just that…

So as a result I was unable to finish packing that night. I was in pain and iced myself to sleep. Woke up the next morning not feeling too great downstairs but I was definitely feeling much better. I had to finish packing though and ended up leaving Birmingham, AL later than expected. Now if you know me, you know the likelihood of me arriving on time anywhere is slim to none. Same applies when I’m in travel mode…

Let’s just say God was looking out and for the first time for me, the airline was running behind schedule. Flight changed departure time upon my arrival to the terminal to 5:30 pm. I flew Delta and I don’t know why I prefer to fly with them. I think because my very first flight that was paid for by an organization in full was with Delta and I had such a great experience. I booked my flight through Expedia though on March 22. The rates were drastically lower and I should have booked earlier to save even more money. Just a little message for all of my procrastinators reading this. My flight totaled out to be $296.80. Each airline does have requirements for you to abide by under Covid-19 regulations. Be sure to check this in advance. It could vary based upon the airline that you choose to fly with and the location(s) of your flight(s). Download your airline’s app for a smooth check in process and turn on your notifications. My flight to Vegas changed gates on me within an hour of my flight’s departure time. Thanks to the app though I didn’t end up at the wrong gate. Shoutout to Delta for proving us with the option to purchase $2.00 headphones to check out some entertainment while in air. Unfortunately, I discovered after the purchase that my port wasn’t working. Perfectly fine by me, option b was to sleep through the flight. I did just that.

Arriving at the Vegas airport was so surreal. I couldn’t believe that I was actually about to spend the weekend in Vegas. My advice to you would be to either schedule your ride with Uber or Lyft (whichever one you prefer to use) in advance or go ahead and book a ride on your way to baggage claim. I didn’t do either and had to wait 30-40 minutes for a ride to the hotel that was only 6 minutes away. My first ride with Lyft was $26.89 with a 20% tip included. I love the ride share feature on Lyft since I was meeting friends in Vegas. I was provided with the option to share my ride with my mom and sister for safety reasons. Definitely recommend if you travel often alone.

The hotel that we stayed at was absolutely breathtaking and I highly recommend staying here if you’re boujie like my friends and prefer luxury during your hotel stay. I’m not complaining at all because the Elara by Hilton Grand Vacations- Center Strip was Niiiiiiiiiiccccccccccccceeee in my Tiffany Haddish voice. I’m just saying that there’s plenty of other options in Vegas if you want to spend less money on your hotel stay. My portion of the hotel stay for Friday thru Monday was $342 and some change.

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I’ll now begin to answer some questions that I received in my DMs about my weekend inVegas…

1. Did I go with bae?
   • If I went with bae, I would have posted his arm or something. lol I went with some college buddies that I met between the years of 2009-2011 and we travel quite often for weekend getaways. Outside of going to Essence Festival in New Orleans, this was my first big trip with the crew. So glad I was able to go. I needed this trip to relax and just live a little. Let’s just say Bae better love to travel as much as I do…
2. Is a weekend long enough to enjoy all that Vegas has to offer?
   • A weekend is long enough to do quite a bit in Vegas if you plan to sleep less and be on the go more. I would sleep like 4-5 hours and get my butt on up to explore the city more. I would say that a weekend is a great start if it’s your first time going. I had so much fun and I did the bare minimum. I arrived Friday around 6:40 pm and headed to the airport on Monday at 11 am.
3. What do you wear in Vegas?
   • Anything goes, okay? Be comfortable. I packed too much and didn’t wear half of the new stuff that I bought because it was just too hot. So save your money and wear what’s in the closet. Wear items that will move with you. Whatever you do, don’t buy new shoes to wear. I made that mistake and I learned my lesson on night one that I would not be wearing my Steve Maddens (tennis shoes) after Friday night (night one).

1. Did you feel safe flying amidst Covid-19 and on the strip?
   • I felt safe but I was also prepared to wipe down my area on the plane and any surface that I’d have to touch at some point. I also wore my mask EVERYWHERE except by the pool. I started out strong but the sun started to cook me and made it uncomfortable to wear for extended periods. But other than that, I kept my mask on at all times during my weekend stay.
2. What more is there to do in Vegas besides go to the casino?
   • So much to do outside of the casino. Come back to the blog for part II and I’ll share all the places that I’d recommend for you to add to your list of things to do while you’re there.
   • Speaking of casinos, I definitely tried my luck and won a little something a few times. I’ll try to add up all my winnings and share in part II.